1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and a method of controlling the vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Background
A fuel cell vehicle runs by supplying oxygen containing air and hydrogen to fuel cells and driving an electric motor using electric power generated by the fuel cells. In recent years, commercial application of a fuel cell vehicle has been advanced which uses those fuel cells as energy source for generating power. Hydrogen is needed for a fuel cell to generate electric power, and the mainstream fuel cell vehicles in recent years run using hydrogen in a hydrogen tank which is provided with a high pressure tank or a storage alloy and which previously stores a sufficient amount of hydrogen.
When a hydrogen tank of a fuel cell vehicle is filled with hydrogen gas at a hydrogen station, a driver connects a hydrogen filling nozzle of a dispenser at the hydrogen station to a hydrogen introducing port provided in the vehicle. The hydrogen introducing port is disposed so as to be protected in a lid box on a lateral side of the vehicle in order to prevent damage caused by foreign substances which may be introduced during driving the vehicle. The driver can open a lid of the lid box so as to expose the hydrogen introducing port to the outside when filling the hydrogen tank with hydrogen gas. Thus, the operation of the lid is a preliminary operation for filling with hydrogen, and thus technology with improved safety utilizing the operation has also been proposed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-351667).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-351667 discloses a technology in which even when a lid opener is operated by a driver for opening the lid during ON period of a start switch for starting operation of the fuel cells mounted in a vehicle, the operation is canceled and the lid won't open. With this technology, when a start switch is turned on, the lid is checked to see whether the lid is open or close. Only when the lid is closed, operation of the fuel cells is started, and when the lid is open, the operation of the fuel cells is prohibited. With the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-351667, a hydrogen supply operation and power generation of the fuel cells can be prevented from being performed at the same time.